Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-ph5wq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-28T16:54:54.653Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Does perfectionism impact adherence to homework assignment? A preliminary pilot study of perfectionism and procrastination of CBT homework

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 October 2019

Osamu Kobori*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, International University of Health and Welfare, 4-1-26, Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 1078402, Japan
Glen Dighton
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
Rachael Hunter
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK
*
*Corresponding author. Email: O.Kobori@iuhw.ac.jp

Abstract

Background:

Homework assignments are generally viewed as an important factor of cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT).

Aim:

This study examined whether perfectionists procrastinate homework assignments.

Method:

Thirty-eight university students attended two sessions, 7 days apart from each other. After completing perfectionism scales at the first session, they were asked to complete homework tasks from a self-help wellbeing booklet and return the booklet at session 2.

Results:

Only maladaptive facets of perfectionism correlated with most of the behavioural measures of procrastination. Moreover, those high in maladaptive perfectionism set and completed fewer planned activities to improve their mood.

Conclusions:

These findings suggest that perfectionism may affect how clients set their homework, and perfectionism may interfere with the homework assignments of CBT.

Type
Brief Clinical Report
Copyright
© British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barnes, M., Sherlock, S., Thomas, L., Kessler, D., Kuyken, W., Owen‐Smith, A., Lewis, G., Wiles, N., & Turner, K. (2013). No pain, no gain: depressed clients’ experiences of cognitive behavioural therapy. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 52, 347. doi: 10.1111/bjc.12021 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beck, J. S. (2011). Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Basics and Beyond. Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Fairburn, C. G., Cooper, Z., & Shafran, R. (2003). The Clinical Perfectionism Questionnaire. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, UK.Google Scholar
Helbig, S., & Fehm, L. (2004). Problems with homework in CBT: rare exception or rather frequent? Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 32, 291301. doi: 10.1017/S1352465804001365 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hewitt, P. L., Flett, G. L., Turnbull-Donovan, W., & Mikail, S. F. (1991). The Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale: reliability, validity, and psychometric properties in psychiatric samples. Psychological Assessment: A Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 3, 464. doi: 10.1037/1040-3590.3.3.464 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holdsworth, E., Bowen, E., Brown, S., & Howat, D. (2014). Client engagement in psychotherapeutic treatment and associations with client characteristics, therapist characteristics, and treatment factors. Clinical Psychology Review, 34, 428450. doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2014.06.004 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kazantzis, N., Whittington, C., & Dattilio, F. (2010). Metaanalysis of homework effects in cognitive and behavioral therapy: a replication and extension. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 17, 144156. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-2850.2010.01204.x Google Scholar
Kazantzis, N., Whittington, C., Zelencich, L., Kyrios, M., Norton, P. J., & Hofmann, S. G. (2016). Quantity and quality of homework compliance: a meta-analysis of relations with outcome in cognitive behavior therapy. Behavior Therapy, 47, 755772. doi: 10.1016/j.beth.2016.05.002 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shafran, R., Cooper, Z., & Fairburn, C. G. (2002). Clinical perfectionism: a cognitive-behavioural analysis. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 40, 773791. doi: 10.1016/S0005-7967(01)00059-6 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sirois, F. M., Molnar, D. S., & Hirsch, J. K. (2017). A meta-analytic and conceptual update on the associations between procrastination and multidimensional perfectionism. European Journal of Personality, 31, 137159. doi: 10.1002/per.2098 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spitzer, R. L., Kroenke, K., Williams, J. B., & Patient Health Questionnaire Primary Care Study Group (1999). Validation and utility of a self-report version of PRIME-MD: the PHQ primary care study. JAMA, 282, 17371744. doi: 10.1001/jama.282.18.1737 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Supplementary material: PDF

Kobori et al. supplementary material

Kobori et al. supplementary material

Download Kobori et al. supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 485.2 KB
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.